AFM in Chemical Technology
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 12:14
administrator
I recently published a new article on AFM in chemical tecnology. This is a short article ideal to introduce newcomers to how AFM works and the operation of the most commonly used AFM modes, and describes some applications in the general area of chemistry. This article is part of the Analytical Techniques section of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, and if you have access, you can access it a the Wiley Online Library at:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/0471238961.0120151319011809.a01.pub2/full
The abstract is reproduced below:
Atomic force microscopy is a powerful, high-resolution technique capable of recording topographic images of a wide variety of samples. Two key strengths of AFM are its ability to produce images in almost any environment—in air, vacuum, or solvent—and to measure a wide variety of physical properties of the sample. First, this article discusses how the atomic force microscope operates, beginning with a background and general principles and then describing all the major components of the atomic force microscope. Second, all the most commonly used modes of AFM are described, including contact and oscillating modes; lateral force microscopy; modes that measure mechanical properties, magnetic force microscopy, and electrical modes; and force spectroscopy and nanoindentation. Finally, several example applications are given with the focus on measurements with particular relevance to chemistry. These include electrochemical AFM, high-resolution imaging, measurement of molecular interactions, AFM-based nanolithography, and characterization of heterogeneity in polymeric systems.
Keywords: atomic force microscopy; surface analysis; scanning probe microscopy
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 14:22
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Requimte AFM course 2011
Friday, 27 May 2011 10:21
administrator
Requimte Hands-on Minicourse on Atomic Force Microscopy 2011
"Without any doubt I will recommend it for everybody which is interested in AFM" - 2011 student.
The 2011 edition of the AFM course was held between 14th and 16th september.
The students learned about:
- AFM Background
- AFM Instrumentation
- AFM Modes - topographic and property modes
- Sample preparation
- AFM Operation, with a section geared specifically towards the TTA-AFM, as well as genaral scanning instructions, hints and tips.
- AFM applications
- AFM Artifacts and troubleshooting AFM Operation
- Data processing and Analysis
- A guest lecture by Filomena Carvalho, from the IMM ( Faculty of medecine University of Lisob, on Force spectroscopy and biological aplications.
- A second guest lecture by Rogerio Colaço of the IST, Technical University of Lisbon, about AFM applications in nanotribology
The course was very succesful, and some photos from the course, and images acquired by the students are shown below.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 14:47
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How to flatten data for step measurements
Thursday, 07 April 2011 09:01
administrator
Monique asked: How can I get my image flat so that I can measure a step between two terraces in it?
Step height measurements are very common in AFM analysis. In chapter 5 of Atomic Force Microscopy, there's decription of the differrent procedures that can be used to make these measurements, and how to process the data so that the measurments are accurate. Bascially, you must be able to flatten the image properly before you make the measurement in order to avoid errors in the measured step height. Depennding on how you make the measurement afterwards, non-flat images will give you an incorrect value, or a much less precise value. In the image below, the data on the left could not be used due to the slope. After levelling with a plane fitted to three points on one of the terraces, the image becomes flat, and it can be seen from the profiles that the step height will be much easier to measure.
Figure 5.2: Example of 3 point plane levelling procedure. Left: Result of plane-fitting to an image of an area of a sample with two distinct levels. The global plane fit does not give a good result (see the profile below), as it assumes the entire image is on the same plane. A global polynomial fit would not work well either. Right: Result of 3 point plane fitting using the three points indicated by crosses in the left image. The result is a much flatter background (see profile).
Back to: AFM FAQS
Image and text from Atomic Force Microscopy by Peter Eaton and Paul West, OUP, 2010. Image copyright 2010 by Peter Eaton and Oxford University Press.
Last Updated on Thursday, 07 April 2011 09:19
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AFM Manufacturers
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 10:52
administrator
AFM Manufacturer list
The following is a simple alphabetical list of, hopefully, all the AFM manufacturers in the world. If you have any additions to make, get in touch via the contact form. For AFM probes, look at the SPM Probes list, and for reference samples, see the SPM References list.
Name and Website
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Comments
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AFM Workshop
www.afmworkshop.com
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Set up by a very experienced AFM designer, AFM Workshop started only in 2010. AFM workshop produce the lowest priced AFM on the market, which is available as a self-assembly kit or prebuilt. |
Agilent
www.agilent.com/find/afm
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Formerly Molecular Imaging, Agilent sell a range of AFM instruments covering most applications. |
Asylum Research
www.asylumresearch.com
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Set up by a former Veeco employees about ten years ago, Asylum initally concentrated on biological force spectroscopy only. Now sell a small range of instrments covering most applications. |
ATC
www.nanoscopy.net/en
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ATC, Advanced Technologies Center, is a Russian manufacturer with one AFM isntrument. |
Bruker
www.bruker-axs.com/atomicforcemicroscopy
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Formerly Veeco, and before that, Digital Instruments, this company is the longest lived, and largest AFM manufactuer in the world. Bruker sell a very wide range of instruments. |
DME
www.dme-spm.com
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Danish Micro Engineering, is a small but long-lasting manufacturer with a range of AFMs and STMs. They design and build custom instruments, and a nice-looking AFM/SEM/FIB. |
JPK
www.jpk.com
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JPK specialise in bio-applications, with an AFM for in-situ imaging, and a force robot for force measurements only. The AFM also available in a materials configuration. |
Nanotec
www.nanotec.es
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Set up by researchers from compultense university in Madrid, they sell mostly in Spain. They sell one instrument with a range of options. Also make the WSxM software package. |
Nanosurf
www.nanosurf.com
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Nanosurf produce a small range of "mid price" AFM instruments. |
Nanonics
www.nanonics.co.il
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An Israeli company, Nanonics specialise on integrated Raman/SNOM AFM instruments. |
NT-MDT
www.ntmdt.com
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Large Russian manufacturer with a wide range of AFM and STM instruments. |
Park Systems
www.parkafm.com
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Korea-based AFM manufacturer with a wide range on systems |
RHK Technology
www.rhk-tech.com
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USA-based company focussing on UHV (ultra high vacuum) AFM and STM systems |
Witec
www.witec.de
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Manufacturer specialising in AFM combined with SNOM or Raman. |
If you would like to have an entry on this list, contact me: contact form.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 July 2011 14:13
requimte advert
Wednesday, 30 March 2011 11:13
administrator
 There is a new page here, which is about the recently set up AFM labs in my research institute, Requimte. The page has location, booking information, etc about the labs. But it also has operation protocols for the instruments, so might also be of use for other users of the TTAFM from AFMWorkshop. There are also some example images collected on the two machines, on their individal pages, Long Beach and Signal Hill. The page can be reached directly at afmhelp.com/requimte.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 March 2011 11:22
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